Assemblywoman Joan M. Quigley

QUIGLEY: FED TRANSPORTATION SECURITY AGENTS SHOULD NAIL WEAPONS BREACHES, NOT WHISTLEBLOWERS
Homeland Security Chair Says TSA Has Its Priorities Skewed

(TRENTON) - Assemblywoman Joan M. Quigley, the chairwoman of the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee, today assailed the federal Transportation Security Administration for wasting resources on a probe aimed at identifying who leaked the results of an unflattering test of the passenger screening system at Newark Liberty International Airport.News from
Assemblywoman Quigley

For Release:
October 31, 2006

Contact:
Assemblywoman Quigley
(201) 217-4614
James Sverapa IV
(609) 292-7065

QUIGLEY: FED TRANSPORTATION SECURITY AGENTS SHOULD NAIL WEAPONS BREACHES, NOT WHISTLEBLOWERS
Homeland Security Chair Says TSA Has Its Priorities Skewed

(TRENTON) - Assemblywoman Joan M. Quigley, the chairwoman of the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee, today assailed the federal Transportation Security Administration for wasting resources on a probe aimed at identifying who leaked the results of an unflattering test of the passenger screening system at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The TSA yesterday announced that it is trying to find the source or sources who leaked to news outlets the results of a security examination that found screeners at Newark Liberty missed 90 percent of the weapons and bombs that TSA agents attempted to smuggle past security checkpoints.

Quigley (D-Hudson) said TSA officials would provide a better public service if they worried less about identifying whistleblowers and concentrated more on fixing the actual security lapses they found in the airport's screening system.

Quigley issued the following statement:

"Obviously, the TSA has a right to be concerned when security sensitive information is leaked to the public. However, when that information deals directly with public safety, the public's right to know should trump many of those concerns.

"It would seem to me that the bigger cause for concern for the TSA is the abysmal results of the security tests conducted at Newark Airport. It is deeply distressing to me that we have a federal security agency more concerned with finding the people who leaked the results of security tests than actually correcting the grave concerns these tests brought to light.

"While the TSA has publicly stated it is conducting an investigation into potential leaks of the test information, we have not heard word one regarding either the TSA's acknowledgement of the lack of appropriate security screening at Newark or what - if anything - they plan to do to correct the severe security holes the testing revealed.

"These problems must be addressed and corrected in a timely manner. If they are not, it may require state and federal legislative intervention."

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